What types of skin concerns can light therapy address?

At Seacoast Dermatology, light and laser energy effectively address a number of common skin complaints. Medical concerns, such as psoriasis, precancerous lesions, and vitiligo, benefit.

If you simply desire smoother, more evenly toned skin, light therapy treatments can help, too.

What is Blue-U® Light Photodynamic Therapy?

Blue-U light therapy treats precancerous sun spots in-office. Otherwise known as actinic keratoses, these rough, dry, scaly spots occur due to too much sun exposure. You’re at risk if you spend a lot of time outdoors and have fair skin and light hair and eyes.

Actinic keratoses have the potential to turn into squamous cell carcinoma. Blue-U therapy is both proactive and preventive. The light therapy activates a topical medication applied to your skin that treats the actinic keratoses. Treated areas take about one week to heal.

Blue light therapy can also treat acne by reducing the bacteria on your skin, thus diminishing outbreaks.

Blue-U light therapy sessions are done in-office and require just a few days of downtime. It’s an alternative to other treatments such as cryotherapy, which is ineffective for large areas of skin, topical chemotherapy, and chemical or laser resurfacing, which can be more uncomfortable.

What is UVB light therapy?

UVB light therapy treats psoriasis, vitiligo, and other inflammatory skin conditions safely, especially for sensitive populations such as children and people with compromised immune systems. The doctors at Seacoast Dermatology, apply a special wavelength of light, which is a natural component of sunlight, directly to the affected areas of skin. It penetrates the outer layer of skin and slows the immune system response that results in abnormal growth of cells.

You typically undergo treatment three times a week for a total of 20-30 sessions. You start with a short exposure of just a couple of minutes. Over time, your exposure is increased until your skin turns a little pinkish. After the initial series of treatments, you usually benefit from monthly maintenance treatments.